Simon shares this latest news from Visit Isle of Wight. Ed
Newport, as it’s never been seen before! New map to help visitors (and locals) around the Isle of Wight’s county town
Newport and Carisbrooke Parish Council has revealed a new and affectionate map of Newport town centre.
Available now
Hand drawn by Alan Rowe of Potting Shed Cartoons, the map will be available in full size A4 colour from Visit Isle of Wight’s Tourist Information Centre based at the Guildhall in Newport.
Cllr Julie Jones-Evans has been working on producing the map to enable visitors to better navigate around town for the past three years, and a large enamel version will soon be installed in the High Street.
Click on image to see larger version
Julie said:
“Creating a map that revealed the historic character of the area was really important and the finished design has far surpassed my expectations.”
Shaping Newport
Chair of Newport and Carisbrooke Parish Council, Cllr Geoff Brodie, said:
“Navigation is one of the themes from the Shaping Newport project and it’s great to have this map completed and available for visitors. Working with Visit Isle of Wight to promote the County town is important to us.”
Detailed drawing took six months to finish
Popular Carisbrooke based artist Alan Rowe has produced work for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, Godshill Model Village and recently completed a book on cycle routes around the Island.
He said the detailed Newport map took around six months from start to finish, focusing on the difficult task of keeping an illustrated style while ensuring it was usable for the general public to find their way around the map.
Artist: Proud to be part of this project
Alan explained why he enjoyed the project so much:
“It was fun to draw the well known features such as the Victoria Monument and the Minster. Being a local, I’ve always wanted to draw a map of the town, so this was my chance!
“I feel proud and pleased to be part of this project and it’s nice to think of visitors exploring more of the town as a result.”
The map will also be used in other products such as mugs and tea towels.
